Green Mountain Parents Group

Upcoming Workshop

2010-06-16T07:15:00.004-04:00

Think:Kids will be presenting an introductory full-day training in the evidence based approach: Collaborative Problem Solving on July 15, 2010 at NewsBank Conference Center from 9-4pm. The class is Think Differently: A New Approach for Parenting, Teaching and Treating Children with Behavioral Challenges.

For more information go to www.thinkkids.org or call 617-643-6030

Should the Passing Grade be Raised?

2010-04-01T14:24:00.006-04:00

Currently, the GM board and administration are considering raising the passing grade to 65. The rationale behind this is that students who pass with a D-, or 60-64, are likely to have "learning gaps" and will not perform successfully at the next level due to these "gaps". Currently, students with weak grades need to get approval from their teachers before registering for successive classes. The Education Committee is interested in obtaining input from parents, students and community members on this issue.

There will be an Educational Committee meeting on April 29th at 3:30 pm in the GM conference room when raising of the passing grade and other issues regarding changes to grading and curriculum will be discussed. This is an open meeting and all are welcome.

Think:Kids

2010-02-19T12:32:00.006-05:00

Think:Kids is a website I recommend visiting if you are a parent, educator or clinician coping with a child or adolescent with challenging behavior. Massachusetts General Hospital has created the Think:Kids program based on the book The Explosive Child by Ross Greene and the Collaborative Problem Solving approach. Worth looking into...

Think:Kids Independent Parenting/Educator Support Group meets at the Whiting Library on the second Weds. of each month at 5pm and the third Saturday of each month @ 9am in the community room (downstairs). Please join us if you are interested in exploring this new and effective appoach! Websites to check out are: www.thinkkids.org; www.livesinthebalance.org and www.explosivechild.com.

Our next meetings will be April 14th @ 5pm and April 23rd at 9am. Meetings run for about an hour and 1/2.
Upcoming New: Green Mountain Union High School is planning a Collaborative Problem Solving Training Seminar in July. Stay tuned for more details...

When Pranks Become Crimes

2009-11-11T08:21:00.004-05:00

A disturbing trend in school to student relationships is viewing symptoms of adolescent behavior as crimes. As evidenced by this recent incident in a Chicago middle school, the presence of a cop on campus quickly escalated a harmless food fight to 25 misdemeanor charges with heavy police presence and student arrests. Middle school students spending time in jail for a food fight? What is happening to our common sense with regard to discipline in schools? Perhaps the need to criminalize our kids' behavior stems from the fact that we are asking/expecting them to behave like adults. When they act irresponsibly, more like the kids they are, instead of treating them from an adult to kid relationship with appropriate consequences, we are now locked into an adult to adult consequence, hence the viewpoint that the behavior is criminal. At our own school, I have seen horseplay in the hallway be reported as "mugging". Writing on a desk is "graffiti". A tossed pencil or empty water bottle is a "projectile" and so on. I think we need to evaluate the correlation between adolescent mistakes, pranks and misbehavior and criminal intent quickly before we go completely over the top as they did the other day in Chicago.

Click on the title to read the full NYTimes article.

An Interesting Link on Restorative Practices in Schools

2009-10-29T15:59:00.002-04:00

Check out this blog post from Tom Cavanagh's blog: Restorative Practices in Schools. Click HERE.

Scary Article Re: Surge of Runaway Youths with Recession

2009-10-26T15:21:00.004-04:00

This is an eye-opening report. Click on the title and watch the video.

The Future of Reading

2009-08-31T15:57:00.003-04:00

Interesting article on new ways to get middle school aged kids reading more in the classroom. Click on the title to open the link.

2009-08-20T22:14:00.002-04:00

Jim Moulton to speak at GMUHS on Technology in Education and Project Based Learning

August 26, 2009 5:30 - 7pm, GMUHS

Jim Moulton will present information on the interactive, collaborative, project-based learning through wide use of technology that will be transforming our Middle School classrooms this year. The staff and administration are very excited about this and interested parents are invited to attend.

Please call GMUHS at 875-2146 for more information

Vote Yes to Support our School & Students

2009-05-04T10:12:00.002-04:00

On May 5th our budget will be decided by the voters of Andover, Chester and Cavendish. GMUHS students and teachers need community support and collaboration as they travel on the vital pathway of middle school and high school. This journey transforms our children into responsible adults. The programs we offer are shaping our future communities. Send our kids the message that we care about their future.

VOTE YES - SUPPORT GMUHS!

Open Positions for GMUHS Town Budget Committee & Chester Town School Board

2009-02-24T11:34:00.002-05:00

Anyone interested in being a member of the Chester Town School Board or the GMUHS Town Budget Committee should attend our annual meeting tonight at Green Mountain Union High School. If interested, you will need 6-8 supporting votes so bring your friends. This is a great chance to become informed about our school and have input into our budget Both of these positions meet a few times a year and are a wonderful way to get involved with your school community.

MINUTES OF 10/20/08 MEETING

2008-11-06T15:50:00.002-05:00

* Parents of seventh-graders are having a positive experience with the Middle School. The new staff has been well-received. They enjoyed the open house, especially the photos of the teachers and administration. The one thing they noted lacking was a sense of community. They feel they drop their children off at GM in the morning and are disconnected from the school after that.
* The school website was discussed. There is more to Powerschool than just access to grades and attendance. We would like to hear more about this at a future meeting. Apparently the focus is on full utilization of Powerschool right now, rather than appearance of the website. Parents did note the use of more photos recently and the updated art dept area.
* The math curriculum is being examined at the school. There is some concern about bringing it into the 21st Century. Some very good math video games exist that would appeal to students. We would be interested in hearing about other methods being examined.
* We would like to help out with the auditorium renovation—pulling out the old seats around Xmas time. We will invite Fritz, who is coordinating this, to attend our next meeting to explain what needs to be done and how we can help. Parents would like to make it a festive atmosphere so volunteers would be more likely to come forward.
* We discussed getting more parents interested in attending our meetings. Next month we will put an item in the Beating Drum at CAES and see about a similar item for Cavendish. Also flyers around town, such as Lisai’s, would be helpful.

Minutes of 9/16/08 Meeting

2008-10-09T18:34:00.000-04:00

Review of Goals

We discussed proposing that the GMUHS website be expanded to include pages for teachers/staff/admin., including photos, philosophy, experience and goals. This format is successfully used at the CAES and at Opportunities in Learning.

The improvement in the condition of the bathrooms was positively noted. The lower level has been redone and is quite an improvement!

We discussed asking individual departments at the school how we can be of help (outside of fundraising, the booster club already does an excellent job at that).

Parents are interested in seeing the student survey that was done last year and a copy of that will be brought to the next meeting.

The end of year school trip to Washington DC for 7th and 8th grade was mentioned and we are interested in hearing more information on this.

The Open House was discussed and everyone felt positive about the open format although the turnout could always be better. Daryl suggested that next year, instead of a photo presentation of the staff members, the theme could be built around having a guest artist come and do a project with the staff so they would have something to display at the open house. The goal is to keep the format interesting so the same thing isn’t done every year.

It was suggested that the Science Fair be introduced at an earlier date rather than January for 7th and 8th graders as it does take some time to process ideas for this annual project.

Since Prin. and Asst. Prin. was not present, we thought we would touch base with Tom Ferenc before the next meeting and review our ideas/suggestions with him.

As we decided last Spring, our next meeting will be at Oct. 21st at The Stone Hearth (or some other neutral convivial space) and we will continue to hold meetings at the school every other month.

Exchange Student Looking for Host

2008-08-28T12:44:00.004-04:00

If you would consider hosting an Exchange Student for the year or just a few weeks while a long-term host family is found please call Ann Newsmith at 802-257-4710. You can find out more about this student from Belgium by clicking on the title above.

Minutes of 5/20/08 Meeting

2008-05-30T07:44:00.001-04:00

· It was decided that meetings in the next academic year would be held off-campus every other month. Some parents felt freer to discuss certain issues out of the school. However, since the administration doesn’t attend off-campus meetings, we need to meet regularly with them also to keep them abreast of parental concerns. Also, minutes will be emailed to the principal and assoc principal. There will be no meeting for the month of Dec. A tentative schedule for the year will be emailed to everyone in August, with a follow-up email each month, listing the time and place, as well as the agenda.

· Issues to be discussed next year:
§ NECAP’s and how they are used
§ The Middle School
§ Communicate to community the openness of the school
§ Getting to know the teachers
§ Commemoration of end of 8th grade
§ Get parents/school more involved in educational issues of the day
§ Security issues to include evacuation plan for parents
§ Block scheduling—advantages & disadvantages; need for some year-round classes such as math and foreign language
§ PBIS follow-up
§ On-line education like VHS and advanced classes through colleges
§ Rubric use by all teachers and posting it online

· Plans for the First of the Year Reception were discussed. Since it was so hot in the Gallery last year, we may have it on the grass in front of the school this year. Set up a tent with balloons to get parents’ attention. We will need to look for donations of food and drink. Get a notice in The Message and hand out information sheets. We are currently working with the principal to get teachers’ biographies and photos for a display. We will meet again on August 5th to finalize plans.

On online programs that help parents monitor school progress

2008-05-05T11:27:00.002-04:00

This is a timely article on the new challenge that parents face having the ability to track student's grades and performance on Powerschool.

Recap of 4/15/08 Meeting

2008-04-18T09:16:00.001-04:00

We had a good turnout for our April meeting with Principal Tom Ferenc and Ass’t Principal Tom Burke. The main focus of our discussion was the Middle School.
· Tom F shared an information sheet on the WSWSU Equity/Diversity Work Group. This group works with the ALANA Community Organization to reduce bias and prejudice in the school system. They will need a parent/community member to be part of the group, which will require a commitment of a monthly meeting. Contact Tom F. before mid-May if you are interested.
· The administration is looking into a possible physical separation of the Middle School (MS). There are about 105 students. Many parents agreed that this would be a positive move. Tom warned it was not an easy or quick change but we have plenty of room in the building.
· Norm Merrill, Language Arts Chair, was in attendance and explained his role as MS Coordinator. Most of his current duties involve data collection. He uses test results to measure student growth and make placements and is the liaison to the high school. He does not do teacher supervision (that would be the principal) or curriculum development (that would be Linda Waite).
· They are currently interviewing for 2 MS Social Studies teachers. Fred Willis is retiring and Melissa Palmer is moving back to the High School.
· Tom F visits classrooms on a daily basis. He does a walkthrough to look at the teacher’s housekeeping, i.e. attendance taking, goals & homework written on the board, etc. He talks to the students, asking them about their lessons.
· There was discussion about vertical alignment of curriculum. Julie Walton, Math teacher in attendance, advised that she sees a slight variation in students from the various elementary schools, coming into 7th grade math. But what one group might lack in one area, they make up for over another group in another area. The basics seem to be covered. Parents expressed their desire to see the curriculum aligned with the elementary 5-6 teachers, as well as the high school.
· Incoming 7th graders were discussed and Mr. Merrill described a typical day to the parents. Move-up Day, an orientation ½ day, for current 6th graders is on June 2nd. Parent’s Night for current 6th graders is on May 28th. The day before school starts in August, the 7th graders have a half-day to acclimate them to their schedule with some team-building activities. Tom F invited any parent to visit the HS during the day to see classes in action. He also personally calls all incoming 7th graders over the summer to welcome them to GM.
· The transition from 6th to 7th grade was of concern to many parents. Separating the students physically from the HS was considered to be a priority. The teachers agreed that most students are prepared academically for MS but not as much emotionally. There is a definite adjustment period that can last through their MS years—organization skills, study skills, etc. Some parents would like to see a more formal method of assisting the students in dealing with this transition. The teachers advised that they do discuss these sorts of things on a daily basis in their team meetings, from classroom issues to individual students.
· Some concerns of parents about the MS are so little time for Physical Education and no music class in the Exploratories. Parents asked about drugs at the MS/HS. It is not a big problem but they take steps to keep it that way. There are the security cameras and Tom F has arranged to have dogs search the school for drugs periodically. There is a substance abuse counselor that works with the students and she may resurrect the TOLIV group. Police chief Rick Cloud is often at the school and walks around, talking to the students.
· Tom B updated us on the PBIS program. He should know by next week if they will move forward with it. We requested an update on the outcome. Tom F received School Board approval of the ALERT NOW phone system to contact parents regarding emergencies. There are still some details to be worked out. The Life Skills program was discussed—students are tested on functional skills to qualify for the program, there are approx 9 students attending right now, they moved the program to the 1st floor with a better set-up.
· NECAP scores were touched upon as well. The staff at GM uses the results to teach to the weaknesses of individual students. These results do not drive the curriculum as a whole.
· The Parents Group volunteered to help out with Arts Night & the Academic Reception. Anyone else interested, please contact Pam O’Neill or Tom Ferenc.

Recap of 3/18/08 Meeting

2008-03-26T17:17:00.004-04:00

Tom Burke, Assistant Principal, met with us this evening and we had a lively two hour discussion, to include:
*The Okemo Challenge Grant--it was decided that since we have no particular project in mind this year, Anne Lamb's group seems to be the best avenue for our community to be involved. We encourage all interested parents to contact her for information or to help with Kids Consortium (kidsconsortium.org).
*Although too late for this year, parents interested in the school choice program should be aware that some of the participating schools are: Hartford, Black River, Springfield, Woodstock, Windsor, Leland & Grey, Bellows Falls, Brattleboro & Twin Valley, along with Green Mountain.
*The recently released 11th grade NECAP scores were less than impressive for Green Mountain and parents were very interested to hear the administration's take on these, as well as any action to be undertaken. Tom is working on a report about it. Tom Ferenc and Linda Waite have been discussing it. It was agreed that we would like to hear more on this subject in future meetings.
*We requested the status of the PBIS system that Tom is implementing for discipline at GM. There has only been staff involvement to date and they are requesting information on school systems that have implemented the program successfully. Tom is bringing in a Vermont consultant to confer with the committee. We requested the parents that have volunteered for this team start being apprised of its status and any actions to be taken. We would like to see the parent/community volunteers involved at this time.
*We queried if Tom was aware of any efforts on the part of Guidance to promote the college tuition cuts that have been making news recently. He was not but brought up a system that is being reviewed for implementation called NAVIANC. It will assist Guidance in college preparation. However, funds will need to be allocated for it.
*We asked Tom what qualifications a student had to have to be in the Life Skills program, which teaches children adaptive skills. Tom will gather more information and report to us at the next meeting.
*Tom announced a new system the administration is looking to implement called ALERT NOW. This is a telephone service that makes automated calls to all parents and guardians in the event of an emergency or any occasion determined to be of merit by the administration. There was some concern expressed about the extent to which this will be used and general agreement it should not be used to announce routine school events. Parents also thought this is something that should be discussed with the community at large before implementation, in order to avoid a failure of the program. Having the parents on board with this is important, as well as agreement on the extent to which it is used. Tom did emphasize that it is used with great success by many school systems in Vermont.
*Finally, next year's block scheduling was discussed. Study hall has been eliminated. School will start at 8 am. There will be 3 87-minute blocks before lunch, one after and finally a split 87-minute block ends the day, which can be used for 2 classes or just 1. There was a need expressed for the continued availability of a year-long class, especially for subjects like math and foreign languages.

Support Your School Budget

2008-02-20T08:10:00.004-05:00

The Annual GMUHS School Meeting is Feb. 26th in the Green Mountain Union High School Auditorium at 7 pm. You can have a voice in this process!

Voting on the budget will be on March 4th, 2008 in the towns of Chester, Andover and Cavendish. Polls will be open from: 8 am to 7 pm - Andover, 9 am to 7 pm - Chester, 10 am - 7 pm - Cavendish.

In the past few years, I suspect there has been poor turn out among GMUHS parents. If every parent who is a registered voter casts a ballot, the impact would be huge on this process. We are at a point where we can't take our schools for granted. So don't forget to vote and get involved!

What is Green Mountain Union High School Doing Right?

2008-01-22T16:29:00.000-05:00

Have you had a positive experience at the middle school or high school that you would be willing to share?
Are there specific things that you like about your child's high school or middle school experience that you would not want to see changed?
Too often schools hear from parents only when there is a problem and when things aren't going right. How do administrators and teachers know when they meet or exceed parents' expectations?

What are Parents Doing Right?

Do you communicate with teachers and administrators at the school on a regular basis or only when there is a problem?
As a parent, have you found it easy to contribute your insight and communicate about your child's progress in school?
Keeping an ongoing dialogue with teachers and mentors at the school can help prevent defensive reactions and highly charged situations when a crisis does evolve.

Adult Ed Parenting Series

2008-01-22T13:35:00.000-05:00

Would you like to build a more trusting relationship with your child? Protect your child from Internet predators? Help your child prepare for life after high school?

A five-topic Parenting Series will be offered by the Green Mountain Adult Education Program this spring. The topics for the classes are: Building a More Trusting Relationship with your Child, Personal Financial Management, Internet Safety for Children, College/Career Readiness Preparation, School Age Health Issues.

For more information about the series, or the other courses offered (including Woodworking for Women, Exploring Pastels, American Red Cross CPR and First Aid, Knitting, Cloth Dollmaking, Ballroom and Salsa Dancing), look for the colorful brochure in various locations around town or go online at www.gmaep.com

Recap of 12/18/07 Meeting

2008-01-10T20:39:00.000-05:00

Principal’s Update: Tom advised that most of the bathroom door repairs were done and the others were underway; the student climate survey by the Student Gov’t is being edited and will be distributed at a future assembly, probably in January, with the results being available in Feb; he is continuing to work on individual learning plans and extended learning opportunities such as an AP Academy with other area schools, VHS & River Valley Tech Ctr.

The Education Committee listed their concerns and areas they are looking into: what happens to GM grads and how do we track them; grading issues—is there a dilution of grades, Middle School math grading was discussed; homework---feasibility of and how much is too much; testing and assessments—AP, ACT, PSAT, SAT.

Tom Burke, ass’t principal, gave us a brief update on the PBIS. He will be looking for parent participants for the committee.

Recap of 11/20/07 Meeting

2007-11-26T15:20:00.000-05:00

ADMINISTRATIVE DISCUSSION
*Tom Burke,new Assistant Principal,discussed his background of various educational experiences. His passion in education is innovative and creative ways to teach students—finding different ways to earn credits which will appeal to different learners, such as Virtual High School. At this time, he is focusing on relationship building. He is responsible for discipline and emergency response plans as well.
*The Administration is looking at a program called Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, as a means of reducing disciplinary issues at the school. You can access information about this program at www.PBIS.org. They would like one to two parents on the committee, which requires a commitment of 1 hour per month for about 3 years. They hope to have it up and running by the end of June. We will be discussing this program at future meetings.
*Nothing more has been done beyond the cameras and doors regarding security at the school
*The hardware for the boys’ bathroom stall doors is on order. Parents expressed concern that the doors had still not been installed. Tom B. wanted to commend the Building and Grounds staff for disinfecting the entire building every night---railings, doorknobs, etc.
* There was discussion about unexcused absences and planned parental-excused absences. Parents requested a review of this policy as it does not address parent-approved absences.
*The Senior Dinner was discussed. The administration has moved along on this and has incorporated student entertainment into the dinners. They also have begun selecting some students to sit with the seniors during lunch. There was much discussion about encouraging all students to participate in this and providing them with icebreakers to initiate conversations.
*A student newspaper was briefly touched upon. Currently the Journalism class is the only group working on it. There is no extracurricular program for other students. We may want to look into this further.
*Annie Fernandez explained the program Rise to the Challenge, provided thru CCV. This is a class, Introduction to College Studies, offered for free to all high school students, particularly juniors and seniors, and we are trying to arrange a class in Chester for Green Mountain students. We asked Tom B to contact CCV to see what could be set up for the Spring.
BRAINSTORMING
*Maddie Bodin brought to our attention the Okemo Mountain Challenge Grant. For two years there have been no applications from any Chester group for these. She is one of a group soliciting donations from the Chester community for the Ski Ball in January. This year’s theme is Students Involved in Civic Life. We will obtain an application from the Superintendent and need to come up with some ideas for projects involving GM students and the community.
*We discussed the upcoming School Board elections. There will be two three-year seats available, one in Chester and one in Cavendish. Any resident at least 18 years of age who obtains 30 signatures from resident legal voters by the end of January can be placed on the ballot. We discussed ways of encouraging more candidates to run and more interest by the community in voting.

Recap of 10/16/07 Meeting

2007-10-20T16:32:00.000-04:00

Alison DesLauriers joined us to discuss the budget process, among other things. Budget committee members are elected at the annual school meeting and Chester needs more involvement. There are currently 6-7 members, they have meetings, ask questions and act as the educational and budgetary watch-dogs for the school budget. The principal and the school board finance committee present the budget to them. At this time, Tom is working on next year’s budget. He plans on getting feedback from parents and the community. We have an opportunity to advise him of our interests and items of importance.

Many stall doors are missing from the boys’ bathrooms. Apparently this is the result of past misbehaviors. Tom will have them reinstalled in the interest of privacy for our male students but, if similar misdeeds occur, it may be reevaluated.

The lack of parking for parents close to the school was discussed. Tom will get a sign made for the current parking space next to his.

Tom has created a Student Support Team to help students in trouble. When made aware of a child experiencing life difficulties, this team can find assistance and help where needed

Alison discussed the Tech Center as well. There are misperceptions in the community that the students that attend the Center are getting only vocational education. However, most go on to attend college and pursue higher education and careers. She would like to see parents made aware of the opportunities there.

Tom would like us to include in our section of the newsletter a series of frequently asked questions by parents. This will be further discussed.

Student involvement in the newsletter was brought up. Should they be able to take it over, produce one of their own or contribute to it? Concerns of censorship were brought up. Tom encouraged students to submit articles to him for inclusion and stated he would not censor them, within reason.

In this vein, having a climate study of the students was discussed. This will need further investigation.

Security was discussed. Parents questioned the reason for installing cameras. There is not a preventative aspect to them so they are for help in bullying situations and location of a threat. Tom and Alison stated that their installation was a decision made last year in a reaction to a need for some type of action to be taken. It was requested that Tom outline in the newsletter exactly what actions the school is taking regarding security. It was agreed that this is a huge nationwide social issue that needs in-depth analysis and discussion in order to determine causes and courses of action.

Recap of 9/18/07 Meeting

2007-09-19T16:12:00.000-04:00

Tom Ferenc asked for help with the Yearbook Club. We need an advisor. A suggestion was made to contact the Rotary Club for assistance. The former advisor, Melissa Palmer, will be out for part of the year on maternity leave but is willing to work with someone and will provide the action plan. Parents of seniors are encouraged to brainstorm. The job would entail selling ad space and working with the existing computer program. Pam Nelligan was suggested as a contact for photography, as she is doing school photos this year.
---Side-note: We are in debt to the publisher from last year’s book and have approx 50 yearbooks leftover. The possibility of having the senior table sell them for half-price at this weekend’s Sale on the Green was put forth.

Linda Waite went over the Climate Study from 2005. She explained the history of the project and some of the findings. At this point, most line items that were suggested solutions have been adopted and the current administration is looking to the future and working on the larger goals of building trust among staff and increasing student expectations. Some of the things currently being implemented as a result of this study are the Virtual High School (VHS), High Schools on the Move (link on GM Parents website) and a 30-hour course for staff from the National School Reform called “Critical Friends”.

Tom outlined some of the steps he has taken since coming to GM. His goals are to improve student learning…to become a professional learning community interdependent with teaching…and to emphasize the social/emotional aspect of learning. He has made an effort to be visible in the school at all hours, learning the names of many students, and visiting the classrooms on an informal basis.

A discussion about the Anti-Bullying program ensued. Tom considers this part of social/emotional learning. He explained that part of the impetus for our adopting a program comes from a legal settlement that was made with some GM parents but that it should have been implemented in any case. He is now in the process of investigating different options for programs to follow and will set up an exploratory committee when he is further along that road before he makes any final decisions. Several parents emphasized that the program must be pervasive and especially involve the staff, as well as contain common sense.

Several other topics that were briefly discussed were the Middle School, more communication to parents regarding programs such as VHS and guidance issues, individual learning plans for each student at GM, the email list for GM and the need for more school spirit.

Making Life Good for Your Kids' Teachers

2007-09-04T18:20:00.000-04:00

I found this helpful and appropriate blog entry when scanning parenting websites. This is not composed by one of the GM Parents but embodies many of the sentiments we have discussed. Please check it out:

http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/2007/08/making-life-goo.html

Reception a Success

2007-09-03T12:15:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all the parents, teachers, students, community members and school administrators who attended the back to school reception at Green Mountain Union High School on the first day of classes.

It was a “warm” reception, and not just because of the hot weather on that first day of school. We parents were able to meet new district superintendent Joan Paustian, new principal Tom Ferenc, and associate principal Geoff Lawrence, plus many teachers, including several of the high school’s department chairpeople.

Tasty baked goods sweetened the event, including Baba a Louis’s famous bars and a coconut-topped cake baked by future Green Mountain student Andrew Dent that was almost too beautiful to eat. (But it was only almost too beautiful. We ate it, and it was delicious.)

Thanks also go to Lisai’s Market, Jiffy Mart and Ray Gould’s Market which provided the drinks, and to The Message for printing an announcement about the reception for the community.

It was wonderful to see so many people willing to celebrate the first day of a new school year with us. Thank you!

Welcome Back To School Reception

2007-08-30T13:09:00.000-04:00

Parents and staff celebrate opening day in the gallery at GMUHS.

Attn: Thespian Enthusiasts

2007-08-22T19:32:00.000-04:00

The Drama Department will be presenting two musicals and one drama this year and is looking for anyone willing to help with costumes for their productions. The fall drama production is open to 9 - 12 grade, the spring musical 7 - 12 grade and the middle school play (late spring) 7th and 8th grade. Please call or email Amanda Bourque at 875-2974 or bourque1@vermontel.net if you are interested or if you have questions.

Reception Planned

2007-08-16T22:16:00.000-04:00

The primary purpose for the Aug. 14 meeting was to organize a “Welcome Back to School” reception to give parents and community members a chance to meet the principal, and perhaps some of their children’s teachers.

We confirmed that the reception would be held from 4 to 6 PM on the first day of school – Weds., August 29 -- at the Gallery on the Bridge at the high school.

We divvied up the organizational chores: contacting the high school maintenance staff, creating a banner to display near the road, writing a press release, contacting Chester-Andover Elementary School to get information to elementary school parents, organizing the refreshments, napkins, cups, ice and tubs to put it in, and getting word out to teachers.

We also talked about the parents’ event that GM currently offers 7th graders. It is primarily an open night sometime in the first two weeks of school. The Tuesday before schools opens, 7th graders have Move Up Day.

We discussed the idea of having a meet-the-teacher get-together prior to the kids going into 9th grade. A big question is how receptive the teachers might be to this idea. This is something to talk to Tom Ferenc about at a future meeting.

Some ideas for the event were a Parents’ Night, where parents would follow their kids’ schedules, with each period lasting a few minutes – just long enough to meet the teacher and hear a little bit about the class. Another idea was an Open School Day, where parents attend school with their children for all or part of the school day.

At the next meeting we will revisit some of our goals and our plans to meet those goals. A future meeting will feature a presentation by Linda Waite on the Climate Survey that was conducted last year. This was originally scheduled for June, but was rescheduled to give more people a chance to attend.

Meeting with Tom Ferenc

2007-06-06T09:54:00.000-04:00

The group met last night with incoming principal Tom Ferenc in the high school library. It was an upbeat and productive meeting, and we were pleased that he was willing to meet with us before officially starting his duties at Green Mountain. The group presented some of the issues that we hope to work on, while the new principal discussed some of his ideas for the upcoming school year.

The issues we discussed are:

*To improve communication between the school and parents.

*To support innovative and caring teachers.

*To foster respect between and among students, teachers and parents.

To kick things off we discussed a school newsletter. Tom Ferenc's previous high school has an impressive, several page long newsletter that is mailed home to parents. He would like to create a similar newsletter at Green Mountain and would appreciate parent volunteers.

We decided that future meetings would have a facilitator, a recorder and reporter at each meeting. These roles will be rotated among the attending members.

We also began plans for a welcoming party for Tom Ferenc. We are planning a pot luck party on the evening after the first day of school with students, parents, teachers and community members. Stay tuned for more details.